Unexpected Reactions
by Claire8216
Summary: You can do it, dude, Travis thought to himself as he walked toward the Demeter cabin. Today was the day Travis Stoll was going to tell Katie Gardner how he felt about her. He's gone over how to do this perfectly a million times in his head. There's no way he could mess this up, right? Rated T for a teensy-weensy bit of swearing. ONE-SHOT ONLY!


**Hey guys! So it's been a while since I've uploaded a story besides a new chapter of Fine Lines, and I can't bring myself to write about anything beside my characters in Fine Lines and Tratie! So, here's a new story about my favorite couple in the series. This idea has been floating around in my mind for a while now, I've just been too lazy to actually write it. Personally, I think my laziness shows, and I've written better stuff, but I'll let you guys be the judge of that! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or any of its characters. All belong to Rick Riordan.**

* * *

_You can do it, dude, _Travis thought to himself as he walked toward the Demeter cabin.

Today was the day Travis Stoll was going to tell Katie Gardner how he felt about her. He's gone over how to do this perfectly a million times in his head. There's no way he could mess this up, right?

Travis knocked on Katie's cabin door. When the door opened he was met with a pair of grass green eyes and hair the color of cherry wood. _Curse Demeter and her beautiful nature._

"Hey, Kates!" Travis said flashing his million dollar smile.

Katie's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Stoll…what's going on?"

Travis rolled his eyes. "What? Can't I see my favorite daughter of Demeter without reason?"

"No."

This, of course, didn't affect Travis. He'd been expecting this kind of reaction. He stepped inside the Demeter cabin and went to sit on Katie's bed.

"Come on in, Travis!" Katie said with mock enthusiasm.

Travis smirked at her. "I did, Kates. Can't you see?"

Katie rolled her eyes. "Don't call me that. Now what do you want?"

Travis took a deep breath. "Um, I wanted to talk to you about something. And it's kind of serious."

All annoyance fled from Katie's eyes and was replaced with a sense of curiosity and worry.

"Is everything alright?" She asked him.

"Yeah, yeah. Everything's fine. It's just…" Travis paused before continuing. "I have this secret. That no one knows. It's about-It's about my…love life."

Katie looked down at the ground.

"And once everyone knows, I'm afraid that they'll treat me differently because this isn't exactly the type of person I'd normally go for. Even though all those girls before were just cover ups."

Travis paused to look at Katie, who still was staring at the ground.

"But I can't help how I feel, Kates. This person might different, but I can't help how I feel. They're the sweetest, most caring person I've ever met."

Travis took a deep breath. "Katie, that person is-"

"You can stop right there, Travis. I know what you're going to say." Katie told him.

Travis sighed in relief. "You do?"

Katie nodded.

"Good, because I was really worried for a sec-"

"You're gay."

"Thank you! I was so worried you'd be upset-wait _what?_"

Katie nodded her head vigorously. "It's okay, Travis. You don't have to be ashamed to be gay. Many people are. And people are being more and more accepting towards gays and their rights. You'll be okay."

"Katie, I'm not-"

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone. But I got to go to…archery! Yeah, archery. See you!" With that she fled her cabin.

"Katie wait! That's not what I was trying to tell you!" Travis looked after Katie until she was out of sight.

"Shit!"

* * *

Katie was standing at the edge of the dock, watching the sunset.

_Damn it Katie! How could you be so stupid!_ Katie thought to herself. She knew what Travis was actually trying to tell her. She's known he's liked her for a while now. And to be completely honest, she liked him back.

But who wouldn't? He was sweet, charismatic, and funny. _And _he was gorgeous with his curly brown hair and crystal clear blue eyes that always held a mischievous sparkle. He was tall, also, but not lanky. He had the perfect amount of muscle on him. He was every girls dream.

Katie didn't know why she'd said what she said. When Travis said that he wanted to talk about something serious, she knew right off the bat he was going to tell her his feelings. And she was all prepared to tell him that she reciprocated those feelings.

Then she panicked. Throughout his speech, all she could think is _what if_. What if their relationship was looked down upon? By their parents? By their friends? What if they didn't work out? They were like fire and rain. Complete opposites. There's no way they could _actually_ last. What if he decided that she wasn't good enough for him? It was bound to happen sometime. Katie was modest, yes. She didn't flaunt every positive thing about her. But she wasn't stupid, either. She knew she wasn't exactly _ugly_ in the looks department. She had pretty eyes and pretty hair, and a lean, athletic body. But that was it. Everything about her was pretty. She was an all around pretty girl. Not drop dead gorgeous like Travis. She knew that Travis Stoll was still way out of her league.

And then there was her biggest _what if._ What if whatever twisted sort of friendship they had now, would crumble after they broke up?

But as much as Katie wanted to rip out her hair when Travis annoyed her, she's grown accustomed to that feeling. She didn't want it to go away. It brought a sort of consistency to her day, knowing that Travis was always right there ready for his next prank.

Katie laughed to herself. She knows she's crazy about this guy when his annoying presence is what she looks forward to most every day.

"What are you laughing about?"

Startled, Katie jumped as she turned around. Unfortunately, as she did that, she lost her balance, and fell into the lake.

When she resurfaced, she heard someone laughing. And she'd recognize that laugh anywhere.

"Shut up, Travis!" Katie yelled as she pulled herself up onto the dock once again, now soaked head to toe.

"Sorry, Kates, but you gotta admit. That was pretty funny."

Katie glared at him and he shut up but continued smiling at her.

"What do you want, Travis?"

Travis stopped smiling. "I wanted to talk to you about earlier."

Katie sighed. "Fine. What about it."

"Katie, I'm not-"

"You're not gay. I know." Katie interrupted. "And I also know that you like me. And that's what you were trying to tell me earlier."

Travis stared at her. "Then why did you say I was _gay?_"

"Because Travis. I was scared. To be completely honest with you, I was going to tell you that I liked you too when you were done, but then I panicked and it just slipped out. But then I got to thinking that if we didn't work out, we could lose whatever it is we have now. And I wasn't sure if I was willing to risk that."

Travis walked closer to her. "So now that you've spent the day hiding from me, and now that I've spent the day looking for you thinking that you thought I was gay, when in reality you knew all along that I liked you, what are your thoughts now?"

Katie smirked at him and grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer. "I think that it would be a great idea."

Travis smiled back at her. "Really?"

"Yes, really." Katie said. "Do you know what else I think would be a great idea?"

Travis smirked. "What's that?"

Katie brought her lips up to the side of his head to where they brushed his ear.

"To get even." Katie whispered.

"Wait, what do you me-"

Before Travis could finish his sentence, Katie pushed him to where he fell into the lake.

As Travis came back up, Katie was laughing.

"You know, Travis, now I see what you meant when you said that this was funny."

Travis glared at her. "Ha ha. Now help me up," Travis said as he put up his hand.

Katie smiled as she grabbed it, and before she knew it, she was in the water again.

Travis laughed. "Seriously, Gardner? That's like the oldest trick in the book. I can't believe you fell for that!"

Now it was Katie's turn to glare at Travis. "Shut up, Stoll."

However, that glare quickly went away when Travis pulled Katie into his arms for a kiss. The moment their lips met, Katie knew that all those what if questions she had were worth the risk. Anything was worth the risk for Travis.

They pulled away smiling at each other.

"You know, going into today, I came up with a whole bunch of different scenarios on how this could end up." Travis told her. "I never pictured for it to end up like today."

Katie grinned proudly at him. "Well, you gotta love me, Stoll."

Travis smiled back at her. "I do, Gardner. You and your unexpected reactions."

* * *

**So what'da think? Leave me a review and let me know! Thanks for reading! :)**

**~Claire8216**


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